Altar and ossuary dating back more than 2,000 years found in Qamashi

An altar associated with religious rituals and a unique ossuary have been found at the Odirmon urban archaeological site, located in Qamashi district of Kashkadarya region.

Archaeological excavations at the site are being carried out this year for the first time by Sanjar Abdurakhimov, a researcher at the Samarkand Institute of Archaeology.

During the excavations, an altar was identified in the northeastern part of the site, with traces of fire well preserved. It is 70 centimeters high and 90 centimeters wide.

The floor was laid with baked, tile-like bricks measuring 18×28×2.5 centimeters, while the area around the structure was covered with a 2.5–3-centimeter-thick layer of clay plaster. The fact that the plaster layers were renewed several times indicates that the altar was used for a long period and regularly repaired.

The outer surface of the ossuary discovered at the site features patterns resembling a deer and a fir tree.

According to the preliminary conclusions of specialists, the Odirmon urban site dates to the period between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. The discovered altar and ossuary serve as an important source for studying the religious beliefs, rituals and burial traditions of the ancient population that lived at the site.